


Flying Solo

by alsilvia



Series: Cassandra Solo: The Series [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Solo!OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 15:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13527420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alsilvia/pseuds/alsilvia
Summary: Cassandra Solo has been raised in the ways of the Jedi. But what happens when she is thrown into the events of The Force Awakens?





	1. Jakku

****

General Organa had received word that there was a man located on Jakku that had information on the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. This being very important to the General, she sent out the Resistance’s best- Commanders Poe Dameron and Cassandra Solo.

So here they were, flying to a hot planet full of sand and force knows what danger was there waiting for them. Once their X-wing landed, Cass looks over at her co-pilot, “Here goes nothing.” Poe simply chuckles and pats her on the shoulder, sending her a wink in response. They both feel the extreme heat the minute they get out of the ship. Poe was dressed in a tan shirt and his signature leather jacket. Cass was in her usual attire- a tight, black jumpsuit with a grey cloak. The outfit was perfectly paired with her shoulder length, silver hair, half of it neatly tied into a knot at the top of her head.

The pair make their way into the village, looking for the tent they were to meet their contact. All her mother had told her was that their contact was a man by the name of Lor San Tekka. Not a minute later, they are greeted by a kind, older man. “Welcome, Commanders.” He greets. “Worry not, the General has filled me in. I’m happy to help. Please, take a seat.” He gestures to the bench behind them. The pair nod their heads and sit down, Lor San Tekka taking a seat across from them. He reaches for Cassandra’s hand, then places a small pouch in her palm, which she accepts gratefully. “This begin to make things right. I've traveled too far, and seen too much, to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force.”

Poe smiles at the man, “Well, because of you now we have a chance. The General's been after this for a long time.”

"’The General.’" Lor San Tekka sighs, “To me, she's royalty.” He looks at Cassandra, “As are you, princess.”

Poe glances at Cass, who’s trying her hardest to hide her distaste at the formal greeting. “Well, she certainly is that.” They’re interrupted when BB-8 enters the room, beeping frantically. Concerned looks take over the pairs face’s. Poe turns to Lor San Tekka, a grim expression on his face. “We’ve got company.” They all exit the tent, Poe raises up a pair quadronoculars. “Shit.” He mutters, seeing the enemy ships quickly approaching them.

Cassandra turns to Lor San Tekka, “You have to hide.”

He shakes his head, “You have to leave. Go!” They both hesitate for a moment before heading off, BB-8 in tow.

They run quickly through the village, seeing multiple villagers armed and ready to defend their home. After a few minutes the crew finally reach their X-wing, which was hidden behind a rather large rock. “Come on BB-8! Hurry!” Once he’s close enough, Poe get BB-8 in the droid socket before joining Cassandra in the cockpit. The controls all light up and the roof of the ship begins to close. Cassandra glances over her shoulder and sees the First Order arrive a distance away from them. Poe urgently works the controls, trying to get them out of there. BB-8 beeps anxiously, and finally the X-wing engines start up. Just as they’re about to lift off, they’re hit by blaster fire. Cassandra and Poe look behind them and see two stormtroopers charging towards them, firing their blasters. “I see ‘em!” He uses the controls to deploy the X-wing’s drop-down blaster and takes out the two troopers, knowing there would be more behind them. He quickly tries to start the ship again, but the engine sputters. Concerned, he opens his canopy, jumps down and moves to the back of the ship where he finds the rear engine panel destroyed by the blaster fire. They're in trouble. Poe and Cassandra kneel beneath the ship, Cass pulls from the pouch a small artifact which she inserts into BB-8 She pats him on gently, “You take this. It's safer with you than it is with us. You get as far away from here as you can. You hear me?” BB-8 BEEPS, hesitantly. “We’ll come back for you! It’ll be alright.” BB-8 watches them run off, whining nervously, before turning and heading off.

Poe uses his blaster rifle to fire at incoming troopers from cover. Sensing that he needs backup, Cassandra brushes back her cloak, revealing a belt with a holster. Pulling the weapon from the holster she ignites it, unleashing the blue blade. After taking down a decent number of stormtroopers they turn their attention to the shuttle craft, just as the door opens. Through the wind and smoke, they see a tall, dark figure exit the ship. Cassandra’s hear stops at the sight, watching as the figure strides through the chaos toward San Tekka. She hadn’t seen him since…

She could feel through the force that it was him. Thankfully, she had trained with Luke to block him from her mind, so she remained undetected. She put her lightsaber away to further avoid standing out.  Kylo Ren stops before the outraged Lor San Tekka, intimidating him with his height alone. The figure’s voice comes out muffled through the mask, “Look how old you've become.”

Lor San Tekka stares down the man behind the mask. “Something far worse has happened to you.”

“You know what I've come for.”

“I know where you come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren.”

“The map to Skywalker. We know you've found it, and now you're going to give it to the First Order.”

~8~

A distance away from the village, Poe and Cassandra watch the exchange. Poe turns to Cassandra, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Cass, you need to go. Find BB-8 and get back to the base.”

She shakes her head, “Poe, you can’t do this alone.”

“Cass, please. You know we can’t let him find you.”

She sighs and finally nods in acceptance. She pulls him into a tight hug, breathing in his scent briefly before pressing a kiss to his cheek. When this was all said and done, she would totally tease him for blushing. With that, she runs further away from the action and stays put, watching Poe.

~8~

Lor San Tekka continues, “The First Order rose from the dark side... you did not.”

Ren begins to get impatient. “I'll show you the dark side.”

“You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family.”

Suddenly Kylo Ren raises his lightsaber and ignites it, revealing a frazzled looking red blade with matching cross hares. “You're so right.” And he brings the blade down on Lor San Tekka, killing the innocent man. Cassandra gasps, and watches with baited breath as she sees Poe, running towards them. He yells something she couldn’t make out from where she was, and then he aims his blaster at Kylo Ren and fires.

Kylo Ren raises his hand, freezing Poe’s blast, leaving the bolt of energy straining in midair. Kylo Ren then sees Poe who suddenly can’t move, struggling against the strength of the force. He’s grabbed by Stormtroopers who drag him past the frozen blast, to Kylo Ren. The Stormtrooper kicks Poe’s legs out from under him, making him land hard on his knees. Kylo Ren kneels to look at Poe.

Poe starts sarcastically, “So who talks first? You talk first?”

Kylo Ren tilts his head to the side, “The old man gave it to you.”

Poe uses his head to gesture to Kylo’s mask. “It's just very hard to understand you with all the...”

“Search him.”

“... Apparatus.” The Troopers roughly pull Poe away. A Stormtrooper begins to pat Poe down rather harshly. Kylo Ren moves closer and Poe just glares as the pat down ends.

“Nothing, sir.” One of the Stormtroopers says.

 “Put him on board.” Ren orders.

He then regards the Stormtroopers with the rounded-up villagers, then turns to the chrome stormtrooper who, upon speaking, turns out to be a woman. “Sir, the villagers.”

“Kill them all.” Kylo answers simply. Cassandra’s heart drops, perhaps momentarily letting her mental guards down.

Kylo Ren heads back toward his ship. But then he suddenly stops. Feeling something. He turns sharply, looking in Cassandra’s direction. She holds her breath and stays as still as possible, letting out the breath she was holding when he finally looks away. Cassandra turns around and starts running off in the direction she last saw BB-8 heading. She needed to find that droid before the First Order did. She turns around, hearing a large explosion in the distance, and sees Poe’s X-wing destroyed. Her heart feels heavy with everything that had just happened, but she couldn’t let that distract her, she had a mission to complete first. And _then_ she would save Dameron’s ass.


	2. Rey

Cass continues her trek through the sands of Jakku, not having stopped since she saw Poe get taken. As strong as he was, she knew Kylo Ren was stronger. He would know where the map to Skywalker was soon enough, and she had to find it first. Her eyes light up upon seeing civilization, immediately recognizing it as Niima Outpost. She walks towards the trading structure, if anyone knew the whereabouts of a droid on this planet, it was Unkar Plutt. Someone brushes past her, pulling her from her thoughts. She turns to see a young woman, about her age, carrying a large staff. She was walking towards the trading post with a round droid behind her… HER droid.

Rather than just approaching the woman, she watches from a short distance away as the girl approaches Unkar Plutt’s window. The blobfish looking creature reviews the items she brought him. Cass catches him glance at BB-8 before speaking. “These five pieces are worth…let me see her…one half portion.”

The woman objects, “Last week they were a half portion each.”

He leans forward, “What about the droid?” Cass leans forward as well, ready to interject, should this girl try to trade in _her_ droid.

The woman glances at BB-8, “What about him?”

“I’ll pay for him.” BB-8 doesn’t like the sound of that at all, but the woman looks curious. “Sixty portions.”

The woman looks stunned, amazed by the amount of food in front of her. Her stomach practically growls at the sight. BB-8 notices the look in her eyes and beeps furiously. She looks from Unkar, down to BB-8 and weighs her options. Eventually she hears herself say, “Actually… the droid’s not for sale.” She turns to BB-8, “Come on.” She walks away, BB-8 following right behind her. Cassandra hangs back for a few moments, watching Unkar Plutt. He watches the woman and the droid walk away with a dark look in his eyes. He picks up a communicator, “Follow the girl and get that droid.” He slams the service window shut.

After seeing this, Cass runs after the woman. She follows her for quite a while, remaining unseen until they approach a fallen AT-AT fighter. “Oi!” Cass shouts. The woman turns around, surprised. Not a moment later, the woman runs at her, staff in hand. She swings the staff, aiming for Cass’s head. Cass grabs the staff with both hands and shoves it forward, knocking the woman square in the forehead. The woman falls with a groan, her back hitting the sand beneath her.

The woman squints, half in pain and half because of the harsh sunlight, at the woman on top of her that’s holding her own staff to her throat. “Who- who are you?”

The woman smirks, relaxing her grip on the staff. “Better question, what the hell are you doing with my droid?”

 The woman stutters, “He- he’s yours? I’ve been trying to help him find his owner.”

“Well, you’ve found her. What’s your name then?”

“Rey, and you are?”

“Cassandra, you can call me Cass though.”

“BB-8 said he belonged to a man though, where’s he?”

“He was taken by the First Order. He’s my partner. But firstly, this droid has something very valuable that needs to be delivered to the Resistance immediately.”

Rey’s mouth drops open in shock, “You’re with the Resistance?”

Leaving out just _how_ involved she was with the resistance, she shrugs, “Yeah, you could say that.”

Rey looks at here in amazement, “I’ve never met a resistance fighter before.”

Cass smiles, “Well, help me out and you can meet plenty more. How does that sound?”

Rey nods in excitement. “Of course, yes!”

~8~

The following morning, the trio find themselves back in Niima Outpost. Suddenly, BB-8 starts beeping erratically Just then, two thugs approach and clearly state their intentions to steal the droid. One of the thugs, which Cass recognized as belonging to Unkar Plutt, throws a sack over BB-8 before going after Cass. The other thug grabs Rey’s arm and the girl fights back.

Hearing all of the commotion, a man looks up to see two girls being attacked by a pair of thugs.  He moves closer to help them but stops in his tracks when he sees the girls fight back. He’s taken aback when he sees them defeat their attackers. Cass runs back to BB-8 and pulls the sack off of him. The man recognizes the droid right away, it was exactly how Poe described it to him! It seems like the droid recognizes him too, as he starts beeping frantically. Rey turns and looks at the man, and then back to BB-8, “Who? Him?” The man looks on in confusion. Rey and Cass both stand, looking at him defiantly. The man can feel trouble coming, judging by the look of anger the silver haired girl was giving him. Suddenly, she begins charging at him. The man realizes that he’s the target and quickly begins to run. He turns a corner, and then another one and then BAM! Cass slams him to the ground with the butt of her blaster, quickly putting it away before he sees it. The man is on his back, panting loudly, clearly freaked out. Cass aims the blaster at him, the angry look never leaving his face.

Cass narrows her eyes at him, “What’s your hurry?”

The man looks at her, “What--?!” BB-8 rolls up to him quickly, an arm emerges from his body and shocks the man. “OW! HEY! What?!”

“That jacket! You stole it.”

“I’ve had a pretty messed up day, alright? So I’d appreciate you stop accusing me – OW!” He shouts as BB-8 zaps him again. “STOP IT!”

“Where did you get it?” Cass presses. “It belongs to my partner.”

The man looks at her, his mind racing. He sighs heavily, “It belonged to Poe Dameron. That was his name, right?” Cass nods ever so slightly, not liking where this was going. “He was captured… by the First Order! I helped him escape but our ship crashed. Poe didn’t make it. Cass looks down at her feet and BB-8 rolls behind her, the pair looking very upset. “Look, I tried to help him. I’m sorry…”

While Cass is still in shock from the news, Rey speaks up. “So you’re with the resistance too?”

The man nods, “Obviously. Yes. I am. I’m with the Resistance, yeah.” He whispers, “I’m with the Resistance.”

Rey lowers her staff and the man stands. She studies him, “You didn’t recognize Cass though?” She turns to the girl, who had remained silent. “Cass, you know him, right?”

Cass shrugs, “The Resistance is a big organization, it’s almost impossible to know everyone.” Finn sighs in relief. “Fortunately, though, my mother is the general, so I do know almost everyone.” She says, giving the man a pointed look that Rey missed.

Rey looks between the two, “BB-8 says he’s on a secret mission, he has to get back to your base.”

The man nods, “Apparently he’s carrying a map that leads to-“

 “Luke Skywalker.” Cass finishes. “Everyone’s after it.”

Rey turns to her, “Luke Skywalker? I thought he was a myth.” Just then BB-8 beeps madly at something he sees. “What is it?” Rey moves to where he is and peeks around a tent corner. She sees to stormtroopers talking to Unkar’s thugs, who happen to point in their direction.


	3. Finn

Seeing the danger approaching them, the man urgently grabs both Rey and Cass’s hands and they head for the tents. Rey looks down at her hand and then back up at the man, “What are you doing?”

Sensing there was no time to waste, and wanting to avoid the question all together, he brushes her off. “Come on!” A laser blast rips right past them and hits a nearby cleaning unit which begins spewing steam. Rey screams and more blasts come towards them as they run. Cass roughly pulls her hand from the man’s grip and runs forward, leading the group out of harm’s way. They weave their way in and out of a maze of tents. “Come on, BB-8!” the man shouts, seeing the droid fall behind.

Rey, annoyed at the fact that this man was still holding her hand, tries to shake him off. “Let go of me!”  


The man shakes his head, “No, we gotta move!”

She pulls her hand back, “I know how to run without you holding my hand! BB-8 stay close!”

Cass, who was focused on returning the blaster fire, suddenly disappears through a tent with a shout of “This way!” Rey, BB-8 and the man follow her, another blast just missing them. Cass takes a sharp right turn, knowing the stormtroopers are right on their tail.

Having momentarily lost their target, one of the stormtroopers speaks over the communicator, “Call in the air strike!”

The group duck into another tent and take cover. “They’re shooting at all of us!” She says in a hushed voice.

The man nods, Cass can practically see the wheels turning in his head, trying to make up a clever lie. “Yeah, they saw you with me! You’re marked!”

Rey scoffs, “Well, thanks for that!”

“I’m not the one who attacked you out of nowhere!” He looks around exasperated, “Does anyone have blasters around here?!”

Cass turns around sharply upon hearing this, blaster in hand, “What the _hell_ do you think I’ve been doing?!” She snaps. Rey and the man watch in silent fear as a stormtrooper in the distance aims his blaster at the back of Cass’s head. The man opens his mouth to say something to her, but stops himself when he sees her lift her blaster and shoot the stormtrooper square in the helmet without even looking behind her. “I sure as hell wasn’t waiting on you to save the day.” She mutters under her breath. 

Rey turns and looks at Cass and BB-8, “Are you okay?” The man quickly quiets her with a gesture, hearing something. Judging by the expression on his face, Cass figures that whatever he hears alarms him greatly.

He reaches for Rey’s hand again, not even attempting to grab Cass’s. Rey rolls her eyes, “Stop taking my hand!” He pulls Rey from the tent, following Cassandra with BB-8 in tow. As they run away from the tent, a tie fighter comes into view from behind the tents, a second right behind it. It fires at the group, sending them all flying. The blast sending sand and debris into the air around them. Cass subtly uses the force to break her fall, quickly pushing herself back onto her feet to find the others. Rey and the man both hit the ground hard. She makes her way over to Rey, seeing that the girl is unharmed, just rattled and afraid. Then she turns and sees the man nearby, lying unconscious. Rey scrambles over to him, Cass kneeling down beside her. BB-8 rolls over, beeping in concern. “Hey!” Rey says, shaking him slightly.

As the man comes to, the first thing out of his mouth is “Are you okay?” Cass smiles at his concern for the young girl.

Rey smiles, touched, “Yeah.” She extends her hand to the man. “Follow us.” The man takes her hand and they’re off, once again following Cass. Rey’s eyes light up when she see’s what Cass is thinking, they’re headed for the spaceport! Why didn’t she think of that?

The man turns around, seeing the two tie fighters hot on their tail. “We can’t outrun them!”

Rey points to a parked, four-engine ship that’s ahead of them. “We might in that quad-jumper!” She shouts back, not seeing that Cass had been making her way towards a ship covered in a tarp, feeling a strong pull towards it. Hearing Rey, she turns and heads to the quad-jumper to catch up with them.

The man shakes his head, “We need a pilot!”

“We’ve got one!” She exclaims.

The man looks at her, “You?!”

Cass points to the ship she was walking towards earlier, it was closer. “What about that ship?”

Rey shakes her head, “That one’s garbage!” They run towards the quad-jumper, but the tie fighters passing over them fire at it, blowing it up. Rey and Cass skid to a stop, “The garbage’ll do!” They turn and run back, Finn and BB-8 follow as they all run towards the covered piece of junk.

Cass walks up to a corner of the ship and yanks the tarp off. She laughs excitedly at what she sees in front of her. Shaking her head in amazement she turns to Rey, “This is no piece of junk, and lucky for you, I know how to fly it. Let’s go!” She says, and the semi-confused pair follow her and BB-8 up the ramp.

Upon entering the ship, Cass looks around in amazement, a hint of nostalgia on her face. She looks to her left and hits a control, the door descending closed. She looks at Rey with a bright smile before gesturing with her head to the cockpit. “It’s been awhile, I need a co-pilot.” Rey returns her smile, tossing her staff aside, and hurrying into the cockpit. Cass turns to the man, walking up to him. In a matter of seconds, all before the man can comprehend what’s going on, she whips out her lightsaber and ignites it, holding it to the man’s throat. He backs into the wall behind him, the fear apparent in his eyes. “I don’t know what your play is here, but I know you’re not with the Resistance. Now, if I find out that your motives align with those of the First Order, or threaten to bring harm to the Republic, I will end you myself. And make no mistake, this isn’t over. Once we are out of imminent danger, we’ll talk about Dameron.” She releases her grip on him and re-sheaths her lightsaber. “The gunner’s position is down there, be of some use.” She gestures to the stairs in the corner of the ship. With that, she turns on her heel and heads towards the cockpit.

Approaching Rey, she asks, “Ever flown anything like this before?” She takes her place in the pilot’s seat and flips a few switches, the engine roaring to life.

Rey shakes her head excitedly, “No! This ship hasn’t flown in years!”

Cass chuckles, “Yeah, it has been a while.” She takes a deep breath. “But I can do this.” She says, mostly to reassure herself. She pulls the yoke in front of her and the cockpit lights up, the ship rising. The tarp flies off of it, the ship spinning and tilting.

Propelling the ship forward, it slams into the town’s archway, crumbling it. From the tents, Unkar Plutt runs out and screams “HEY! THAT’S MIIINE!!!”

The Falcon blasts away, the two tie fighters following quickly behind it. Cass and Rey continue to pilot, attempting to stay low to confuse the tie fighter’s tracking mechanisms. “I’m going low!” She shouts in warning. Suddenly the ship is rocked by a blast. “Oi! What are you doing back there? Any plans on firing back?” She quips at the man in the gunner’s position.

“I’m working on it!” He responds. “Are the shields up?”

Cass nods at a switch in front of Rey, the girl flicks it up, turning the shields on. Cass exhales in relief, “So much easier with a co-pilot.”

Before Rey can respond, the ship is rocked by another blast. “We need cover, quick!” The man shouts.

“Well we’re about to get some!” She responds before mumbling to herself, “I hope.” The ship speeds through a rock formation, grazing the rock along the way and taking out a chunk here and there. They eventually lose on of the tie fighters, but the cannon gets stuck in the forward position after suffering a blast. Trying to evade the last tie fighter, Cass squeezes the ship through narrow pathways and suddenly, an idea comes to her. “Get ready!” She shouts. Just as the tie fighter locks in on them, Cass yanks the yoke and flips the ship, giving the cannon a clear shot at the tie fighter. The man fires, destroying it. Cass flips the ship back over and flies away as the tie fighter crashes beneath them.

Getting out of the pilot and co-pilot seats, Rey and Cass head through the corridor and meet the man in the lounge. “Now that was some flying!”

Cass chuckles, momentarily letting her hard-exterior slip. “Yeah, well, I’ve had some practice.”

“Great shooting, by the way!” Rey adds, Cass nodding in agreement. “Your last shot was dead on. You got him with one blast!” She laughs.

BB-8 beeps something urgently. Rey turns to the droid and kneels in front of him. “You’re ok. They’re with the Resistance. They’ll get you home. We all will.” She turns to the man, “I don’t know your name.”

“Finn.” The man, Finn, responds. “And you guys?”

“I’m Rey, and this is Cass.” Before anyone can say another word, they jump at a loud noise from across the ship’s lounge, seeing steam burst from under the grating.

Cass runs over, “Quick, help me with this!” The other two rush over and help her pull it up.

“Woah!” Finn exclaims. “What’s going on?” He asks as Cass goes below the grating to investigate, Rey kneeling beside the hatch to assist as BB-8 beeps in concern.

 


	4. Han

_“Anything else?”_

_“The-the two were accompanied by a pair of girls.”_

_“ **What** girls?”_

~8~

Cass’s head pops up from below the grating, surrounded by steam, an emergency alarm blaring in the background. “I think it’s the motivator!” Rey exclaims.

Cass nods, turning towards Finn and gesturing to a storage box behind him. “Grab me a Harris wrench. Check in there!”

As he checks in the storage compartments, Cass disappears down below, Rey leaning over the edge to watch her, both of them overwhelmed by the current situation. “How bad is it?” Rey asks.

Cass shakes her head, keeping her eyes glued to what she was working on. “Well, if we want to live, not very good.”

BB-8 watches Finn searches through some tools. “They’re hunting for us now, we gotta get out of this system.” Cass re-emerges, Finn hands her the wrench and she quickly disappears again.

“BB-8 said the location of your base is “need to know”- and if we’re going to get there, I need to know. Now, preferably so I can plug in the coordinates.”

Finn nods, nervous. “Yeah, Cass, tell her where the base is.”

Cass rolls her eyes. “Bit busy right now. Rey, could you help me with this?”

“Of course!” Rey says, jumping below the grating to help.

While the two girls are unaware, Finn tries to get BB-8 to talk. “You gotta tell us where the base is.” BB-8 beeps. “I don't speak that. Alright, between us, I'm not with the Resistance, okay?” BB-8 backs up as if in shock. “I'm just trying to get away from the First Order -- but you tell us where your base is, I'll get you there first -- deal?!” BB-8 cocks his head. “Droid, please”

This time it’s Rey who pops up, “Pilex driver, hurry!” Finn moves for the tool. “So where's your base?”

Finn continues searching for the tool, “Go on BB-8, tell her.” He whispers quietly. “Please!”

Rey and Finn look to BB-8, who considers the whole situation, then beeps.

Rey responds, “The Ileenium system?”

Finn hands her the tool, surprised but relieved -- Rey disappears below again. “Yeah, the Ileenium system, that's the one -- get us there as fast as you can.” Finn smiles and gives BB-8 a thumbs up. BB-8 quickly extends his welding torch and mimics Finn’s gesture.

“I'll drop you three at Ponemah Terminal.” Rey says, before Cass pops up.

“I need the bonding tape, hurry!” She exclaims.

Finn nods, searching for the tape. “What about you?” He asks Rey.

“I gotta get back to Jakku!” Rey responds.

Finn shakes his head. “Back to Jak-- Why does everyone always wanna go back to Jakku?!”

Cass interrupts, “No, that one!” She says, referring to the tape. “No. No. The one I'm pointing to! No. NO. NO. If I don't patch it up, the propulsion tank will overflow and flood the ship with poisonous gas!” Cass snaps.

Bb-8 moves towards Finn and tips his head, pointing it towards the bonding tape. He throws her the tape, “This?”

“Yes!” she disappears below.

Finn continues, “Hey. Rey. You're a pilot -- you can fly anywhere! Why go back?! You got a family? You got a boyfriend? Cute boyfriend?”

The steam and alarms cease as Rey pops up, annoyed. A bemused Cass right behind her. “None of your business, that’s why!”

But before anyone can speak, all the ship’s power goes out. Finn looks around in panic, “That can’t be good.”

“No, it definitely can’t be.” Cass says before heading off towards the cockpit, Rey, Finn and BB-8 in tow. She plops into the seat in a panic, checking the dead control panel. “Someone’s locked onto us, all the controls are overridden.

Finn quickly, and very awkwardly climbs up, onto the copilot seat Rey was currently sitting in and looks out.  “Get off. Get off! See anything?” She asks.

“Oh no.” Finn hops back down, horrified. “It's the First Order.”

Rey turns to Cass, “What do we do-- there must be something.”

Finn's mind races, “You said poisonous gas…”

Cass shrugs, “Yeah, but I fixed that.”

“Can you unfix it? Cass and Rey stare at him, the realization suddenly hitting them. They head off, grabbing gas masks from the lounge along the way. Finn, Rey, and Cass, gas masks on, quickly climb into the open grating area.

“C'mon BB-8.” Rey calls. They help BB-8 down, the three of them struggling like crazy, Cass knew droids were heavy but DAMN, he weighs a TON.

“I got it.” Finn offers.

 “Oooh...”

“I'm okay. BB-8 get off me...” Finn pulls the grating over them as Cass works on the controls.

“You think this'll work on the Stormtroopers?” Rey asks.

Cass nods, “It should.”

“Yeah.” Finn agrees. “Their masks filter out smoke, not toxins.” The ship’s lights come on and they can hear the ship ramp being lowered. “Hurry!”

“We’re hurrying!” Rey shouts back. Suddenly the ship door opens—and an older man and a massive Wookie walk in.  

The older man smiles, “Chewie, we're home.” He nods to the Wookie, who then heads off one way, the man heading off in another. The grating above the trio lifts up, all of their hands raising in surrender, they look up at the man, who's training his blaster on them, threateningly. “Where are the others?” The man asks. “Where’s the pilot?”  

“We’re the pilots!” Rey exclaims, pointing between herself and Cass.

“You two?” The man asks. The Wookie moans. Rey responds to the two. “No, it’s true: we’re the only ones on board.”

Finn looks at her, “You can understand that thing?” HAN

The man looks at Finn, “And "that thing" can understand you too, so watch it. Come on outta there.” They climb up, BB-8 pulling himself up as well.

Finn and Rey stand before the man as Cass quickly pulls on the hood of her cloak and stalks past them into the lounge. Once out of hearing range of the others, she turns to the Wookie and shushes him. “Shh Chewie. Not yet.” She says, walking by him with a wink.

The man, having just seen the girl storm off, provides a snide comment. “Well she seems lovely.” He says with a roll of his eyes. “Where'd you get this ship?”

“Niima Outpost.” Rey responds.

“Jakku?! That junkyard?”

 “Thank you!” Finn exclaims, turning to Rey, “Junkyard!”

The man turns to Chewie. “Told ya we should've double-checked the Western Reaches!” He turns to Rey, “Who had it, Ducain?”

“I stole it from Unkar Plutt. He stole it from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Ducain.” Rey explains.

“Who stole it from me! Well, you tell him Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon for good.” Han walks away, taking in the ship: it's his again. He doesn't even notice that Rey is staring at him in awe. His back to all of them, he smiles. Chewie responds as Han heads toward the cockpit.

Rey looks amazed, “This is the Millennium Falcon? You're Han Solo?

“I used to be.”

“Han Solo?” Finn asks, “The Rebellion General?”

Rey shakes her head, “No, the smuggler!”

Finn turns to Chewie “Wasn’t he a war hero?!”

Chewie replies: with a shrug.  

Rey calls out, “This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs!”

Han enters the cockpit. “Twelve!” He says. “Fourteen.” He has a moment to reminisce, then he sees something that bothers him: “Hey! Some moof-milker put a compressor on the ignition line!” Han moves to the corridor.

“Unkar Plutt did. I thought it was a mistake too, puts too much stress on the hyperdrive”

“Chewie, throw 'em in a pod, we'll drop them at the nearest inhabited planet.”

“Wait! No -- we need your help!”

“My help?

“This droid has to get to the Resistance base as soon as possible!”

“He's carrying a map to Luke Skywalker.” Finn adds. Han stops in his tracks. “You are the Han Solo that fought with the Rebellion. You knew him.”

The mention of Luke has really hit Han. He turns to Finn. HAN “Yeah, I-“

Cass takes this as her cue, she stands up from her seat in the pilot’s chair. “Of course he knows Luke! The man’s family!” She says, “Hello Dad.” 

 


	5. The Falcon

“Hello Dad.” 

Han, eyes widen in shock, he opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by a loud bang in the distance. “Don’t tell me a Rathtar’s gotten loose...” He walks up to Cass, pointing a finger in her face accusingly. “We’ll talk later.” He runs off towards the source of the noise, all of them following closely behind.

Finn’s eyes widen in concern, “Wait – a what?! Did you just say Rathtars? Hey!” He follows Han to a control panel. “You’re not hauling Rathtars on this freighter, are you?”

“I’m hauling Rathtars.” The control panel shows images from all around the ship, including the exterior where a transport ship is landing on the freighter. Han’s fear is apparent on his face. “Oh great. It’s the Guavian death gang – they must’ve tracked us from Nantoon.”

Han heads off and Rey looks at Cass and Finn in mild confusion, “What’s a Rathtar?”

“They’re big and dangerous…”

Finn looks at her, “Y’ever heard of the Trillia Massacre?”

Rey shakes her head, “No.”

“Good.” Cass adds.

“I’ve got three of ‘em going to King Prana.” Han explains.

“Three?!” Finn asks, “How’d you get them on board?”

“I used to have a bigger crew.” Chewie groans in agreement. A hatch opens in the floor and Han turns to the three fugitives, “Get below deck and stay there until I say so – don’t even think about taking the Falcon.”

Rey looks at the droid, “What about BB-8?”

“He stays with me – until I get rid of the gang, then you can have him back and be on your way.”

Finn shakes his head, “What about the Rathtars… where are you keeping them?” They jump at a sudden, loud bang and look behind them to see a giant, disgusting Rathtar tongue slams into the window of the cargo container.

“There’s one.”

Rey turns to Han, “What are you gonna do?”

“Same thing I always do: talk my way out of it.” Chewie moans, disagreeing with him. “Yes, I do. Every time.” 

Rey, Finn and Cass get below the deck and listen carefully to what’s going on above them. The Guavian Death Gang enters. One man in a jumpsuit and five soldiers in helmets enter, they turn into and stop at the end of the corridor. Han, Chewie and BB-8 are forty feet away in the middle of the long hall. The man without a mask speaks with a thick accent, “Han Solo. You are a dead man.”

Han smiles, innocent and friendly. “Bala-Tik. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is we loaned you fifty thousand for this job.”

Below the floor grating, the three look up, trying to see what’s going on. “Can you see them?” Rey asks.

Cass shakes her head. “No.” They start crawling down the crawl space to get closer to the action.

Bala-Tik continues, “I heard you also borrowed fifty thousand from Kanjiklub.”

Han tries to brush it off, “You know you can't trust those little freaks! How long've we known each other?”

Rey, Cass and Finn arrive below the gang, speaking in whispers.

 “They have blasters...” Rey says, a nervous tone in her voice.

Finn nods, “A lot of 'em.”

Bala-Tik sighs, “The question is how much longer will we know each other? Not long. We want our money back now.”

Han scoffs, “Ya think hunting Rathtars is cheap? I spent that money.”

“Kanjiklub wants their investment back, too.”

Han shakes her head, “I never made a deal with Kanjiklub!”

“Tell that to Kanjiklub.”

Han hears a portal open and his face goes white as he turns to the other end of the corridor, where Kanjiklub members appear. Han smiles uncomfortably at the Kanjiklub members, their leader in front.  Han tries to play it off, “Tasu Leech. Good to see you.”

Tasu speaks an alien language that they can’t quite understand. All of a sudden, Tasu cocks his weapon. It’s evident that they’re there for blood. BB-8 looks nervous. Finn, Cass and Rey react to the sounds of the new gang – and they start crawling back the other way to see them.

“Boys. You're both gonna get what I promised! Have I ever not delivered for you before?”

Bala-Tik nods, “Yeah.”

Tasu Leech holds up two fingers and says something along the lines of “Twice!”

Han realizes he's right. “What was the second time?”

“Your game is old.” Bala-Tik says. “There's no one in the galaxy left for you to swindle.” Tasu Leech mutters something Cass can’t quite make out. “That BB unit... the First Order is looking for one just like it. And three fugitives.”

Finn, Cass and Rey stop crawling and tense.

BB-8 hides further behind Han’s leg. Han’s face falls as he realizes Finn, Cass and Rey are in real trouble. After all, Cass was _his_ daughter. Han shrugs, “First I’ve heard of it.”

Finn and Rey look at each other, afraid. Cass keeps a blank expression on her face in an attempt to keep them all calm. Herself included.

One of the Kanjiklub members begins moving down the corridor, aiming a flashlight down below looking for the three fugitives.

The three start crawling in the opposite direction, Rey taking the lead. They quickly arrive at a control panel, Rey looking at the controls and Cass hovering close behind. “Wait wait wait wait. If we close the blast doors in that corridor, we can trap both gangs!” Rey exclaims.

“Close the blast doors from here?” Finn asks.

“Resetting the fuses should do it.” Rey begins resetting the fuses, sparks shooting from them as they reset, Cass quickly starts helping. They soon finish resetting the fuse boxes, Rey smiling optimistically. Finn looks quite hopeful too. Cass however, remains expressionless.

 

~8~

 

Down an empty row od large containers, which suddenly open; a massive Rathtar slithers out of its cage!

 

~8~

 

The emergency lights begin to go off. Han’s eyes go wide, recognizing the signal. He knows what it means, and it’s not good. “…I got a bad feeling about this…”

Suddenly all the lights come back on, even down below, where Cass realizes it hasn’t gone as planned. “Oh no.”

“Oh no, what?” Finn asks.

Rey gulps, “Wrong fuses.”

 

~8~

“Kill them! And take the droid!” Bala-Tik orders.

The gangs aim their weapons just as a Rathtar appears behind the Guavian Death Gang, grabbing one of the soldiers. The others scream and run, firing at the massive creature.

Han and Chewie flinch, then turning to Kanjiklub as a Rathtar appears behind them with a deafening roar. The gang turns, some of them run, others fire at it.

Han, Chewie and BB-8 race down the hall when a member of the Kanjiklub gang comes around the corner. Han punches him with one blow, and throws him towards the Rathtar.

Cass, Rey and Finn hurriedly crawl through the space below decks. “This was a mistake!” Finn shouts.

“Huge!” Rey agrees. They find a floor hatch and open it, the three of them quickly climbing out. They turn down a corridor, “What do they look like?” Rey asks as they turn another corner. Turning that corner, they are met with the sight of gang members fighting against a massive Rathtar. Rey covers her mouth in shock.

“They look like that.” Finn says in slight horror. Cass grabs each of their hands and yanks them away. They race around another corner and are once again met with the Rathtar! “This way!” Finn shouts, pulling Cass and Rey along, Cass shaking his hand from hers.

“Are you sure?” She screams. While attempting to run off, Finn is grabbed by the Rathtar and pulled away fast. “FINN!”

Cass and Rey run after the Rathtar, but it turns a corner, losing the girls. They hear Finn shout, “Rey! Cass!” He screams as he struggles to get loose.

They both turn another corner, no Finn in sight. This time it’s Cass’s turn to shout, “Finn!” The distraught look on Rey’s face fuels her even more. They run down another hallway, Cass freezing and sticking her arm out, stopping Rey as well. She takes a few steps backwards and then turns to her left, where she sees a control panel. Both girl’s eyes light up at the sight. They come across a panel of video monitors showing different areas of the ship. They see Finn, being dragged by a Rathtar toward an open blast door. Rey’s hand hovers over the button, but Cass notes the nervous expression on her face and the mild tremor of her hand, so, when the time was right, Cass places her hand over Rey’s and slams the button. The blast door instantly closes on one of the Rathtar’s tentacles. It screams in pain, it’s severed tentacle still wrapped around Finn’s leg.

Finn scrambles up, desperately shaking the slimy, sticky tentacle still wrapped around Finn’s leg. Rey and Cass arrive, running to Finn and pulling him into a quick, group hug. “It had me! But the door--!” Finn mumbles, full of adrenaline.

Rey beams at Cass, who winks, then turns to Finn. “That was lucky!”

“Lucky indeed.” Cass chuckles. “Come on, let’s go find the others.” They head off towards the Falcon.

~8~

Han, Chewie and BB-8 take cover, Han exchanging blaster fire with gang members at the other end of the hall. “I got the door.” Han shouts, “Cover us!” Chewie groans and nods, firing down the hall as Han crosses the corridor, BB-8 following nervously. As Chewie exchanges blaster fire, Han works the controls. The hatch opens and Han can see the Falcon in the distance, just as Chewie is hit in the shoulder by one of the gang members. He goes down with a loud groan. “Chewie! You okay?” Han grabs Chewie’s crossbow, and fires at the door controls. He looks down at the crossbow, “Wow.” He muses, “Come on! Come on!”

Cass, Finn and Rey run, turning into the hangar, toward the Falcon. Han helps a wounded Chewie up the ramp, and sees them. “Dad!” Cass shouts, at the same time Rey shouts “Han!”

They race past BB-8, going up the ramp. Han turns to Rey, “You, close the door behind us!” He turns to Finn, “You take care of Chewie!” and finally turns to Cass, “You, with me!” Han and Rey race up the ramp as Finn heads up with Chewie, who screams loudly in pain.

Once in the cockpit, Han stands at the navicomputer, hitting switches, Cass plops herself down in the pilot’s seat. Rey enters behind them, and moves past Han to Chewie's seat. Han turns to the two girls, “Hey, what are you two doing?”

Cass shrugs, so Rey speaks first, “Unkar Plutt installed a fuel pump too -- if we don't prime that we're not going anywhere.”

Han sighs, “I hate that guy.”

Han goes to sit, pausing when he sends Cass a dirty look. He simply stares at Cass, who shrinks under his gaze and eventually gets out of his seat. “I’ll go check on Finn and Chewie.”

Rey sits there hitting buttons: “And now you could use a co-pilot.”

“I got one, he's back there.” Han says, “So is my back-up co-pilot.” They prepare for take off, “Watch the thrust, we're goin' out of here at lightspeed”

Rey looks at him in shock, “From inside the hangar? Is that even possible?”

“I never ask that question until after I've done it” A Rathtar jumps onto the windshield, causing Rey to scream as it’s giant mouth chews at the glass. Han works the controls, “This is not how I thought this day was gonna go -- angle the shields -- Hang on back there!

In the lounge, Chewie is in pain while Finn is going through a first aid kit. Finn, having a huge problem, shouts “No problem!”

In the hangar, three gang members race out and fire at the Falcon, hitting the fuel lines and blasting the ship hard. “Come on baby, don't let me down!” Han mumbles, he hits a switch -- but nothing happens. “What?!” But Rey reaches over, and hits a switch matter-of-factly.

“Compressor.” As much as Han doesn't like it, she's right. He hits the switch again and the hyperdrive fires. As they approach lightspeed, the Rathtar is blown off of the windshield.  

~8~

Bala-Tik looks out the window, of one of the hangar doors, seething. He calls someone, “Inform the First Order that Han Solo has the droid they want. And it's aboard the Millennium Falcon.”

 


	6. Maz

Han and Rey continue to pilot, alarms sounding and problems all around them while Cass and Finn are tending to Chewie in the lounge. Chewie yelps as Finn nervously tries to bandage his shoulder, Cass sighs, “Oh, just let me do it.” She snatches the bandages from Finn, Chewie immediately relaxes but still lets out a roar of pain when Cass puts pressure on the wound, which causes BB-8 to scurry off.

They hear Han shout from the cockpit: “You hurt Chewie, you're gonna deal with me!” Cass knew it was mainly directed at Finn.

Finn struggles to keep the Wookie still while Cass bandages him, “Hurt him?! He almost killed me six times!” Chewie grabs him by the collar and roars, Finn gulps, “Which is fine.”

After fixing their problems in the cockpit, Han exits, walking past BB-8. “Move, Ball.”

To which Cass responds, “Oi! He’s got a name.” Han simply rolls his eyes in response, going to kneel by Chewie, who’s lying down recovering.

Han checks his friends wound with care, Chewie moans something to him. “Nah, don’t say that, you did great. Just rest.” Han turns to Finn and Cass, sitting at the Holochess set with BB-8 at Cass’s side. He addresses Finn first. “Good job, kid. And thanks.”

Finn nods, “You’re welcome.” Finn accidentally leans on the chess set, hitting a button so that the pieces appear, looking up at Finn curiously. The pieces start to fight as Finn fiddles with the controls, trying to turn it off.

“So, fugitives, huh?”

Cass shrugs, “The First Order wants the map, we’ve got the map.”

Rey chimes in, “Finn is with the Resistance too…” She shrugs. “... I'm just a scavenger.”

Han gives Finn a skeptical once-over as Finn finally manages to turn the chess set off as Rey enters, before raising a questioning eyebrow to Cass, who shakes her head. Han looks to BB-8, “Let's see whatcha got.”

BB-8 turns to Cass, looking for permission. “Go ahead.” She encourages. BB-8 rolls forward and suddenly projects a holographic map, filling the room with planets, stars and systems. PLANETS, STARS, SYSTEMS. All their eyes widen, even Chewie sits up to look.

Han moves through stars, looking around. “This map's not complete. It's just a piece. Ever since Luke disappeared, people have been looking for him.”

“Why'd he leave?” Rey asks.

“He was training a new generation of Jedi. One boy, an apprentice turned against him, destroyed it all. Luke felt responsible... He walked away from everything.

“Do you know what happened to him?” Finn inquires.

“There're a lot of rumors. Stories. The people who knew him the best think he went looking for the first Jedi temple.”

Rey looks at him in awe, “The Jedi were real?” Finn eyeballs Cass, not forgetting his encounter with Cass’s lightsaber.

“I used to wonder that myself. Then I had to raise one.” He gestures to Cass, who gives him a perplexed look, raised _one_? Only one? Han ignores her questioning look and continues. “Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo -- magical power holding together good, evil, the dark side and the light… Crazy thing is, it's true. The Force, the Jedi, all of it. It's all true.”

“Wait,” Rey turns to Cass. “You’re a Jedi – an _actua_ l Jedi?! I thought they were just legends!”

“Nowadays? We might as well be.” Cass says with a sad smile.

Before anything else can be said an alarm rings on the control station, prompting Han to toggle some switches. BB-8 cuts off the hologram. Chewie rises and moans to Han, but Han motions for Chewie to lay back down, “No, you rest.” He turns to the three, “You want my help? You're getting it. Gonna see an old friend. She'll get your droid home. This is our stop.” Han leaves towards the cockpit, Cass, Rey and Finn following.

In the cockpit, Han pilots with Cass as his co-pilot. Finn, Rey and BB-8 beside them. Cass recognizes the place in front of them as Takodana, and immediately knows who they’re meeting. Han notices Rey looking out the windshield, almost in tears. She speaks quietly, “I didn't know there was this much green in the whole galaxy...” Han watches her, Cass seeing the fatherly look in his eye she’s been the recipient of herself, she smiles at the sight.

Han and Cass rummage through a storage compartment, retrieving some old blasters. Finn arrives behind the pair, concerned. “Hey, Solo -- I'm not sure what we're walking into here…”

Han looks at him incredulously, “D'you just call me "Solo"?”

 “Sorry. Han-- Mr. Solo. You should know, I'm a big deal in the Resistance. Which puts a real target on my back. Are there any conspirators here? First Order sympathizers?” Now it’s Cass’s turn to give him an incredulous look.

“Listen big deal, you've got another problem. Women always figure out the truth. I think one of them already has.” Han hands him a blaster. “Always.” He walks off. Finn watches him go, wracked with guilt.

“So you know I’m not with the Resistance?” Finn asks, shamefully.

“I have known. However, I don’t see you as a threat. I see a man who just wants an escape from something that terrifies him. Help us, and the Resistance can help you. I think it’s what Poe would have wanted.” She finishes with a sad smile, turning and walking off the ship to join her father and Rey outside.

~8~

Han hands Rey a blaster pistol as she stands at looks at the castle. “You might need this.”

Rey looks at him with a cocky expression, “I think I can handle myself.”

“We know,” Cass smiles. “That’s why he’s giving it to you. If I were you, I’d take it before he changes his mind.” Rey picks it up and aims it in the distance. “You know how to use one of these?”

“Yeah, you pull the trigger.” Rey says, squinting to improve her aim.

Han looks at her, “There's a little bit more to it than that. You got a lot to learn. You got a name?”

 Rey nods, “Rey.”

“Rey. I've been thinkin' about bringing on some more crew, Rey. A second mate. Someone to help out. Someone who can keep up with Chewie and me, appreciates the Falcon.”

“Are you offering me a job? What about Cass?”

Han waves his hand, “She’s got a high place in the Resistance, she doesn’t need me.” He says with a fond, but sad smile. He continues, “I wouldn't be nice to you. It doesn't pay much.

“You're offering me a job.”

“I'm thinking about it.” He mutters. Rey wants to say yes. But something stops her. Han and Cass can see it in her eyes. “Well?”

“If you were, I'd be flattered. But I have to get home.”

Han looks at her, questioningly. “Jakku?”

Rey looks off, in thought. “Yeah, Jakku.” She pauses. “I've already been away too long.”

HAN turns to Chewie, “Chewie, check out the ship as best you can.” He turns back to Rey, “It's too bad. Chewie kind of likes you.” He heads off.

Han walks them to the castle. “Solo, why are we here again?” Finn asks.

 “To get your droid on a clean ship.”

“Clean?” Rey asks.

“Do you think it was luck that Chewie and I found the Falcon? If we can find it on our scanners, the First Order's not far behind. Want to get BB-8 to the Resistance? Maz Kanata is our best bet.”

“We can trust her, right?” Finn asks, slight panic in his voice.

“Relax, kid. She's run this watering hole for a thousand years. Maz is a bit of an acquired taste, so let me do the talking. And whatever you do, don't stare...”

Simultaneously, Rey and Finn ask, “At what?”

“Any of it.” Cass answers with a wave of her hand. The door opens to a crowded hall, the scene in front of them is pure madness, with the faint sound of music in the background.

They make their way through a room full of rough and odd aliens and humans who gamble, drink, scheme, negotiate, argue. All of a sudden, they hear a loud voice, “Han Solo!” they follow the sound to a tiny, thousand-year-old, four-foot-tall alien. Everyone turns to look at the group, the room having gone silent.

“Oh boy.” Han whispers before getting louder, and waving. “Hey, Maz!” Thankfully, the noise returns to the room.

Maz walks to them, pushing someone away. “Where's my boyfriend?”

“Chewie's working on the Falcon.”

“I like that Wookiee. I assume you need something. Desperately. Let's get to it.” Maz walks off, gesturing for them to follow. Finn and Rey are confused. Han indicates for them to follow.

~8~

Maz looks at the group in awe, “A map to Skywalker himself? You're right back in the mess.”

Han cuts to the chase, “Maz, I need you to get this droid to Leia. And Cass needs to get back to her base.”

“Hmm. No. You've been running away from this fight for too long. Han, nyakee nago wadda. Go home!”

“Leia doesn't want to see me.” Han says, earning a scoff and eyeroll from Cass.

Finn interrupts, “Please, we came here for your help.”

While Rey asks, “What fight?”

“The only fight: against the dark side. Through the ages, I've seen evil take many forms. The Sith. The Empire. Today, it is the First Order. Their shadow is spreading across the galaxy. We must face them. Fight them. All of us.” Maz responds wisely.

 “There is no fight against the First Order!” Finn argues. “Not one we can win. Look around. There's no chance we haven't been recognized already. I bet you the First Order is on their way right—" Finn stops, seeing Maz adjusting her goggles, scrutinizing him -- her eyes get huge. “What's this? What are you doing?” Maz adjusts the goggles again. Her eyes get impossibly bigger. She grunts recognition. She hoists herself on the tabletop, knocking over food and plates, crawling towards Finn. “Solo, what is she doing?”

Han shrugs, “I don't know, but it ain't good.”

“If you live long enough you see the same eyes in different people. I'm looking at the eyes of a man who wants to run.” She says, eyeing Finn.

 “You don't know a thing about me. Where I'm from. What I've seen.” He glares at her. “You don't know the First Order like I do. They'll slaughter us. We all need to run.”

Rey seems stunned. Maz, not so much. She crawls back to her chair. She points to some pirates in the corner. “You see those two? They'll trade work for transportation to the Outer Rim. There, you can disappear.” Finn sees them and weighs his options.

Rey looks at him in shock, “Finn!”

“Come with me.” He offers.

“What about BB-8? We're not done yet. We have to get him back to your base.”

 “I can't. Finn stands to leave. He offers the gun back to Han.”

Han shakes his head, “Keep it, kid.” Finn heads off. Rey gets up to follow.

Maz dials her lenses back to normal, and turns to Han. “Who's the girl?”

~8~

“Don't go.”

“Take care of yourself, Rey. Please.”

Rey looks at him, crushed. With quiet resignation, Rey watches Finn return to the aliens... And all three of them head off. He gets to the front door and walks through it.

Rey’s heart hurts, but suddenly she hears the sound of a young girl in anguish, crying. Cass looks around in confusion, having heard it too. Rey follows the sound into the castle, Cass right behind her, not before seeing that Finn has looked back at Rey one last time before walking out. She empathizes with the man now, and feels his sadness strongly. She looks down at her feet for a moment, before turning and following Rey deeper into the castle.  


	7. Anakin

Rey follows the girl’s voice into the basement of Maz’s castle, Cass and BB-8 right behind her. Both girls have looks of confusion painted on their faces, hearing the echoing sounds of a young girl crying. They are met with a door, Rey reaches for it only to find it locked. Cass steps up to the door, and waves her hand over the door knob, unlocking it, her other hand reaching for her blaster. The girls hesitantly enter what seems to be a small, vaulted storage room, shrouded in darkness. Cass watches as Rey moves into the room with a purpose, ignoring all the treasures lining the floor and heading straight for an old wooden box, resting on a table. Cass could feel a pull towards it to, but hung back to observe Rey, curious. Rey reaches out, slowly touching the box. Rey opens the box, and what Cass sees in the box shocks her. Luke Skywalker’s first lightsaber. She watches as Rey reaches for the lightsaber, almost hypnotically. Rey gasps audibly as she touches the lightsaber, almost as if she was pulled into another world.

~8~

Rey turns as she hears the sharp sound of a lightsaber being ignited and a mechanical breathing sound, as if someone was wearing a mask.

She stands and looks around, having heard the little girl from before shout “No!”

She looks around, becoming overwhelmed by all she sees and hears. Cass and BBS-8 are nowhere to be found. She finally spots a doorway, running down the corridor. The corridor tilts and turns, throwing her into the wall, which is now the ground.

She looks around, shielding her eyes from the sudden, bright sunlight. She sees a little girl, herself as a child. She is sobbing, hysterical. Unkar Plutt's meaty hand holds her small arm. She is back on Jakku, watching a starship fly into the sky, abandoning her. “No, come back!” She cries. “Quiet, girl!” Plutt silences her. The ship flies towards the desert sun, leaving her.

She looks up, and sees a burning temple in the dead of night. She then spots and R2 unit, watching the flames as a man appears. She can’t see the man’s face at all as he falls to his knees beside the droid, placing a mechanical hand it.

She looks back in front of her just in time to see a man get stabbed by a fiery, red lightsaber. The man screams and falls to the ground right in front of Rey, who hurriedly gets to her feet, frightened.

She turns to look behind her, met with the sight of a tall man wearing all black, and a menacing mask, holding the same sizzling red lightsaber she had seen before. Behind him are six more men in similar clothing, all prepared to attack.

Rey turns to look behind her once again, to see who the men in black were up against. She sees a single figure in a tan cloak, shaking slightly, probably a combination of the chilling rain and the sight in front of them. The figure takes a step forward, igniting a blue lightsaber. The figure throws another hand out, causing an explosion to occur to Rey’s right. She jumps, looking to her right before looking back at the cloaked figure. The figure’s hood has blown off, revealing a younger girl with black-brown hair, panting. Rey looks closer, seeing the sharp, menacing yellow glow in her eyes. Her view of the girl flashes to that of a man wearing all black, with long curly hair, letting out an angry cry. Anakin Skywalker. The girl appears again, letting out her own angry cry before charging at the knights. Rey finally catches a good look at her face, recognizing her right away. “Cass!” She shouts.

She’s suddenly thrown into an area of dark, snowy woods. She looks around for Cass, the women having disappeared again. Lost, she gets to her feet, seeing her own breath in clouds due to the frigid air. The, she hears the sound of clashing lightsabers. She moves through the woods, towards the sound. She continues to run, her heart pounding, when all of a sudden, the masked man from her last vision appears in front of her. She screams, falling and backing up until her back touches the base of a tree. Hoping Cass was nearby once again, she shouts for her, “Cass!”

~8~

Back in Maz’s castle, Cass runs up to Rey, having heard her shout her name once again. Rey falls out of the room quickly, finding her sitting in the hall, out of breath and quite alarmed. Cass kneels in front of her, gripping her shoulders and trying to get a hold of Rey. “Rey, are you alright? What just happened?” Cass asks.” She narrows her eyes, “What did you see?” Rey just continues to look at her with wide eyes, horrified. “Do you mind if I take a look into your head? Old Jedi trick, I promise it won’t hurt.” She moves two fingers to each side of Rey’s face, holding her temples. Everything Rey had just seen runs through Cass’s mind, the woman dawning her own expression of horror. “You- You can’t have been there.” The part that had shaken her the most was seeing her face next to her grandfather’s, both of their eyes a vibrant yellow as they called on the force in a moment of anger and revenge. Ben was the one that wanted to be like Anakin, not her. She shakes her head, she could deal with that another time, perhaps once they found Luke.

She stands up, extending a hand to help Rey up. They look towards the end of the corridor, where they see Maz waiting for them. Rey looks between Maz and Cass, “What was that? I shouldn’t have gone in there.”

“That lightsaber was Luke’s. And his father’s before him and now, it calls to you!”

Rey sits there stunned, speechless. “I have to get back to Jakku.”

“Han told me.” Maz reaches out and holds Rey’s hand. “Dear child. I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whomever you’re waiting for on Jakku, they’re never coming back. But… there’s someone who still could.”

Rey looks at her, tears in her eyes. “Luke.”

“The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead. I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes. Feel it. The light. It’s always been there. It will guide you. The saber. Take it.”

Rey suddenly stands, “I’m never touching that again. I don’t want any part of this.” She runs off, passing Maz and Cass.

Maz sighs feeling for the girl, and turns to Cass. You saw everything in her head, that may give you the answers you seek. Why Luke left you.”

Cass blinks back tears, chewing on her bottom lip. “It was Anakin. He already lost one apprentice and he saw the potential to lose another. That’s why Luke left.”


	8. Takodana

Cass tries to catch up to Rey, having finished her conversation with Maz she quickly tries to catch the girl while she was still inside the castle.

Reaching the door to the outside, she sees everyone gathered in horror, looking at the sky. Cass looks up to the sky just in time to the entire planet of Hosnian Prime incinerated, the explosion lingering in space. Feeling a presence behind her, she turns to see Han, Finn and Chewie, all looking at the sky in horror. Finn looks the most frightened, knowing exactly who caused this. “It was the Republic.” He moves through the crowd. “The First Order, they’ve done it.” He looks at the group, “Where’s Rey?”

Before any of them can answer, Maz approaches them in a rush. “Come with me. Quickly.” They follow, Maz leading Han, Finn, Cass and Chewie down the hall. “I’ve had this for ages.” She opens the door to the treasure room, making her way towards the box Rey had touched before.

She takes out the lightsaber and hands it to Cass, who holds both hands up as if surrendering, shaking her head. “Nope, I’m not touching that.”

Maz sighs, understanding and hands the lightsaber to Finn, who looks at Cass his facial expression asking, “what’s wrong with it?”. Cass waves her hand and mouths “it’s fine”, which does nothing to settle Finn’s nerves. Maz interrupts their silent conversation, “Kept it locked away.”

“Where’d you get that?” Han asks.

“A good question for another time.” She turns to Finn, “Take it! Find your friend!” Finn grabs it as the room is shaken by an attack above ground. “Those beasts! They’re here!”

~8~

Cass, Han, Chewie, Finn and Maz climb up the stairs and through the debris, exhausted once they reach the surface. “Come on, Chewie!” Han encourages.

Maz turns to Finn and Cass, “Rey and BB-8, they need you. Now go.”

Finn looks at her, perplexed, “I need a weapon.”

Cass smirks at him, pulling out her lightsaber and igniting the green weapon. “You’ve got one kid.” Maz smiles at her, she sounded so much like her father. While Finn looks at her questioningly -- he's supposed to use the lightsaber?! He turns it on, unleashing a blue blade.  

Han and Chewie run, taking cover from blasts and firing back at the Stormtroopers, taking some of them out. Han watches Chewie fire, then turns to him, “Hey, can I try that?” Chewie groans and nods, handing him the crossbow. Han fires at some Stormtroopers and sends them flying. “I like this thing.”

Cass makes her way through the Stormtroopers, taking them out one by one. In her most impressive stunt, she used the force, grabbing one Stormtrooper by the throat and tossing him aside, where he collided with another two troopers, taking them all out. She smirks, but doesn’t let that distract her from the Stormtrooper sneaking up behind her. She turns sharply, bringing her lightsaber down on the trooper.

Peeling his eyes away from the action, he takes on some stormtroopers himself. His movements halt when he comes across a Stormtrooper holding a very dangerous looking mace. The Stormtrooper shouts at Finn, “Traitor!” This angers Finn and causes him to swing at the trooper. The two battle it out until the trooper knocks Finn down.

The Stormtrooper is about to end Finn, when he’s suddenly shot! Wide-eyed, Finn sees Han run over, having fired the fatal blast at the Stormtrooper. Han helps him up, “You okay, big deal?”

“Thanks!” Finn says, trying to regain his composure.

Suddenly, they hear a Stormtrooper approaching from behind them, “Don’t move!” They turn around and are greeted by a group of about 10 Stormtroopers. “TK-338, we have targets in custody!” Han looks around, this would be a hell of a time for Cass to show up and save the day. However, when he finally spots Cass, his face falls. She’s being dragged towards them, kicking furiously, a Stormtrooper holding each arm. Han sighs. “No way out.” They all drop their weapons, holding their hands up in surrender. A squad of troopers appears behind them and they’re marched toward a transport with their hands behind their heads. Out of nowhere, Cass hears a familiar roar coming across the lake, her eyes light up. In the sky they can see a group of X-wings appear, firing at the First Order ships. As the rebels on the ground look hopeful, the Stormtroopers begin to panic. “We have incoming at two-eight-point six! Move! Dispatch! Move! Scramble all squads! Repeat, scramble all squads! Anti-air cover en route to our position!”

“It’s the Resistance.” Han says.

One X-wing, marked in black, swoops down and takes out the parked tie fighters and Stormtroopers, catching Cass’s attention. She stands for a moment, gaping. That couldn’t be… Finn said he was dead! She shakes her head, grabbing her lightsaber from a downed trooper. She could figure it out when everyone was out of imminent danger.

The Stormtroopers around Finn, Han and Chewie are scattered, tossed aside in the explosions. Finn quickly picks up the lightsaber as it falls to the ground. “Quick!” Han shouts. Chewie picks up his crossbow, Han grabbing his blaster, shooting a Trooper. Finn, on the other hand is glued on the black X-wing. “Woohoo! Yeah! That's one hell of a pilot!”

Cass appears to the side of him, her eyes also watching the mysterious X-wing. “It sure is.” She beams.

Finn takes out one trooper, and then another, while Cass handles the rest. Suddenly, she feels a disturbance in the force. She turns to see Kylo Ren in the forest, and quickly hides her lightsaber as it was a dead giveaway. Her breath catches in her throat when she sees him carrying Rey in his arms. She sees that Finn has noticed as well and she can practically feel his heart shatter. Han stops and turns, seeing Kylo Ren entering his shuttle. Han is shaken to say the least.

Finn continues to look on in horror, “NO!! REY!!!” He runs toward the shuttle through laser blasts and explosions, but the shuttle takes off. “No, no, no, no... REY!!” In crazed frustration, Finn stops running, watches the receding First Order ships, Rey along with them.

Finn runs to Cass and Han, “He took her! Did you see that? He took her. She's gone!”

Cass looks at him sadly as Han walks past him. “Yeah, yeah, I know...” And he and Chewie head off.

Han moves toward a Resistance transport that’s landing in the debris. BB-8 and Cass come up beside him, in wait for the transport. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Cass would have laughed at the look on Han’s face, knowing exactly what's about to happen. Finally, the transport door opens. And standing there is General Leia Organa.


End file.
